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For a detailed report on how the President’s Budget would harm African Amerian families, go to: http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-new.cfm?doc_name=sr-109-2-24

Washington, DC-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid warned today that the Bush Budget will have a serious impact for African American families. The budget that the President sent to Congress this week cuts funding for crucial education, health and nutrition, and small business programs that help the African American community move forward.

“The American people have paid the price for the Republican culture of corruption over the past five years and the president’s budget proposes more of the same,” said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. “President Bush’s budget continues to put special interests first while making worse the financial pressures confronting African American families. This is an immoral and irresponsible approach that does not reflect the values of the American people.”

Despite the importance of education to our children’s future, the President’s budget would reduce federal education funding by $2.1 billion, the largest cut in the 26 year history of the Department of Education. In addition, for the second year in a row, the President proposes to flat-fund Historically Black Colleges and Graduate Institutions.

About 46 million Americans do not have health insurance and African Americans have disproportionately high uninsurance rates. The President’s budget fails to address this problem.

The President’s budget also ignores additional reconstruction costs needed to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf coast.

“While working families are facing higher prices for everything from health care to gas to college tuition this president’s budget continues to hand out costly, budget busting favors for special interests like the drug, oil, and HMO industries,” said Senator Reid. “After creating record deficits and debt with his budget busting tax breaks, the president is asking our seniors, our students, and our families to clean up his fiscal mess with painful cuts in health care and student aid.”

“The American people know that together we can do better than this immoral and irresponsible budget. Democrats are committed to reform so that we can clean up Washington, get our fiscal house in order and focus on the day-to-day problems facing America’s families,” said Reid.